The Suicide Squad Review (Spoiler-Free)

Good day ladies and gents, I have reappeared online to share my thoughts on The Suicide Squad, the latest DC film from director James Gunn. Now being in the UK I could’ve had my review online last Friday because that’s when it released over here, but I decided to hold off until this week. So having seen it twice I’m ready to share my thoughts via my podcast Film Focus.

In episode 127 of Film Focus, I review the latest film from Warner Bros. and DC; The Suicide Squad. So this is the second attempt to make a Suicide Squad film after the 2016 version failed to resonate with audiences in the way that the studios wanted. So with James Gunn at the helm, he has assembled an impressive cast and crafted a story that from the trailers looks like it’s more quirky, violent, funnier and crazier than the previous instalment. So is the film a good time or not? Well, listen to this spoiler-free episode to find out! 😀

Anyway here’s the review:

If you haven’t checked out my podcast before you can find it here: https://soundcloud.com/film_focus

So have you seen The Suicide Squad and if so what did you think of it? Drop your thoughts in the comments section below and I’ll see ya in the next review, laters! 😀

 

EPIC REVIEW: Suicide Squad

Hey there ladies and gents, time for another new review and today I’ll be talking about one of my most anticipated films of 2016 which I saw around an ago; Suicide Squad. Now for those not aware I’ve been hyped for this film since the first Comic-Con trailer, the choice of director, cast and overall marketing just made me believe that this was gonna be the DC film for me, and more so than Batman V Superman, this was the film that I had most hope for in terms of expanding the DC cinematic universe. Now unless you’ve been away from the internet then you must be aware of all the negative reviews this film has gained over the last few days, and even though I caught glimpses of it, I decided to steer clear of those reviews and see it for myself. So I watched the earliest screening in my cinema, now I’m here, and well, here’s the thing, Suicide Squad, it’s not bad, but was not the amazing film I wanted it to be.

The story can be described as the following:

“A secret government agency led by Amanda Waller recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions and save the world from a powerful threat in exchange for clemency.“

This story had some interesting elements with the formation of the villain squad and some of their individual stories, but the plot felt a little muddled and could have been a lot simpler and more streamlined. The problems begin with the story as I felt like there was a few too many moving pieces, not that it was hard to follow, more so there were a few side/sub plots that could have been shortened or gotten rid of altogether. Also the flow of the story felt off with some pacing issues and oddly edited scenes. And the overall plot was fine, but it had several elements that I’d seen in other comic books films, but not in a good way, plus I was kind of hoping for a film that was on a smaller scale and while this story was smaller than the last two DC films, at the same time it felt like it was reaching further to a global scale and that was unnecessary.

Now let’s talk about the cast, they may be the best part about the whole film, though this ensemble cast are not properly balanced, and some get way more screen time and character development than others. Let’s start with the top-tier characters with Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg and Jared Leto as The Joker. Smith was on-point, he was funny, charismatic, mean and commanding, pretty much all the reasons you like the actor and I liked what he did as Deadshot, but I felt like his character got the most screen time and character development, and some of his scenes could have been cut to give more fleshing out time to other characters. Robbie was solid as Harley Quinn, there was that right balance of playfulness, craziness and sexiness, and while I wasn’t keen on some of the backstory, the overly sexual costume and personality traits, Harley was still a lot of fun. Davis was my favourite as Amanda Waller, she was a no-nonsense, ruthless and intimidating individual and Davis brought her A-game. And Kinnaman, while I didn’t care too much about his character, this was one of the better roles I’ve liked him in. Then there’s the slightly lower tier of the cast. Jai Courtney and Jay Hernandez brought some interesting flavour to the film as Boomerang and El Diablo, Courtney was fun, hilarious and crazy, while Hernandez brought a cool seriousness to his character and ended up being one of my favourite people. And Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, I kind of liked her but at the same time her performance and character fluctuated between me liking and disliking her. As for everyone else they either alright or just there, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc was alright but we barely got to know him and he didn’t say or do too much, and finally Karen Fukuhara as Katana severely underutilized and had some cool minor character detailed, but she was wasted and it pissed me off because it felt almost as bad as what X-Men: Apocalypse did with Jubilee.

When it comes to the presentation I wasn’t very impressed with this film. Visually the film had some decent moments with the action sequences, use of colour and CGI, but I wasn’t keen on how some of the scenes were framed, the action sequences were alright but lacked the right kind of choreography and cinematography to make them stand out, some of the lighting and editing was off and the CGI was iffy from time to time. Maybe I’m being a little harsh, but the visual material is one of the key elements I look forward to in any comic book adapted film and this film just didn’t have the wow factor. Also on the audio side of things the film score by Steven Price was a little bland and did nothing to amplify what was happening on-screen, plus there felt like there was an overabundance of music put in this film, and while I’m not against the use of popular music in films, at the same time it felt distracting and placed all over the film for the sake of it. Oh and finally, I dunno if it was just me but the sound effects really lacked impact especially when it came to the gunfire and characters getting smacked on the ground or into walls.

In the end Suicide Squad is not a terrible film, it’s certainly not Fan4stic or X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but I wanted to love this film so badly and it pains me that another one of these non-Batman films from DC has ended up not being a complete success considering the talent involved. I feel like this will be another polarizing film, but for the sake of your curiosity/sanity, give this film a watch and decide for yourselves.

So are you going to watch Suicide Squad and if you’ve seen it, pass on your thoughts in the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀

 

QUICK REVIEW: Suicide Squad Trailer #2

Howdy ladies and gents, time for another one of those trailer reviews and today I’m here to talk about the newest trailer for Suicide Squad. Now I’m pretty sure I did a review for the first trailer last year, but according to my archives I didn’t. I really enjoyed the first trailer and since then my interest in the film has only increased, the new posters were cool, but I was just waiting for the new trailer and later on it was dropped.

So here’s the trailer below:

Now I only got to see this trailer just before I got to go to work around 10am today and I was impressed. This trailer has a nice sense of personality and charm, and while we don’t get too many new details when it comes to the story, we do learn a few more details like:

1. The fact that we see the villains taken from jail to another undisclosed location and drafted into a team.
2. We see more individual moments from the members of the squad.
3. And we start to see some hints as to what the squad will be up against.

This trailer is all about Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, I just love this girl’s enthusiasm, personality and timing for humour through her strange personality. Robbie just steals the spotlight and it’s not just because of how gorgeous she is in her costume, but more so because she has some of the best dialogue and scenes. Just behind her was Jared Leto as the Joker, while this trailer doesn’t show much more than before, it did allow us hear him speak and laugh and illustrate this new interpretation of madness. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be a super memorable Joker when compared to what’s come before, but I’m sure he’ll be great. I really enjoyed seeing more of the characters Deadshot, Enchantress and her creepy smoke aura, and more moments of Rick Flag and Captain Boomerang (who looks pretty funny as played by Jai Courtney). And it also helps that the trailer included “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen, besides “Don’t Stop Me Now“, this is one of the most popular of Queen songs and it was well interrogated into the trailer with specific scenes and moments. And while I don’t need famous songs in trailers, this was one of the better ones with the action cut to the music which amplified the visuals.

To conclude Suicide Squad looks like a lot of fun, and this new trailer only increases my excitement. Now It’s probably not in the high-end of my most anticipated films of 2016, but it’s very charismatic, colourful, action-packed and humourous. The film could be okay, but I’m hoping it’ll be much more than that and help launch the DC cinematic universe beyond Batman V Superman and the upcoming Justice League and Wonder Woman films.

So have you seen the second trailer for Suicide Squad and if so what do you think of it? Are you more or less excited than before? Be sure to drop me a comment and I’ll see ya on the next review! 🙂

 

Say “I’ll Be Back!” in this Terminator Genisys Review

Hello there people of the internet, man it feels like I’ve been gone for a while now (even though its only been a few days), but after some recovery time I’m back with a fresh film review in the form of Terminator Genisys. Now I’ve made it no secret that since the first trailer hit the web I was not a fan, it looked interesting, but also like a jumbled version of Terminator’s greatest hits. I was curious but wary, but it was after the second trailer came out that I (along with the rest of the world) not only got more interested in Genisys but also believed that we saw a massive spoiler in the trailer. From that point I had hope that the film would be at least decent. So I watched it last night and now it’s time to pass judgement!

The story can be summed up as the following:

“John Connor sends Kyle Reese back in time to protect Sarah Connor, but when he arrives in 1984, nothing is as he expected it to be. Now Sarah and Kyle along with an aged T-800 Terminator go on an epic journey to change fate and save the future from Skynet.”

The plot overall was decent, but was a very messy affair. Now what I liked about the film was the first 20 minutes or so. It was clear, simple, different, yet nostalgic, cool and fun. I have to give the filmmakers props for their faithfulness and references to the older Terminator films as there are references galore for hardcore fans that know their material especially when it comes to Terminator 1 & 2 and a there’s even a bit of 3 and Salvation in there too. But after that initial nostalgia trip and the film goes off on its own tangent that’s where things get convoluted. This film tries to do so much, at times the story is hard to follow because there’s so much going on with the time travelling, new and returning characters and presenting new scenarios. However the story goes to places without explaining certain things, some of the time travelling elements get really confusing and come across as more messy than smart and there’s some emotional aspects in this film that just don’t feel earned or carry as much weight as they should do. And finally the film has humour and some of it work but other times it’s not as funny. Oh and I have to mention the whole John Connor thing that was spoiled in the second trailer, I won’t go into specifics for those unaware of it, but the second trailer really did ruin a massive aspect of the story and while there’s more to the film, the marketing team and whoever put that trailer together should be fired for revealing something that would have been much better off seen in the film on its own.

As for the cast they vary from being decent to being bad, I think it is just due to the fact some of the actors are miscast in their roles. But one thing that does remain constant is Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator (aka Guardian/Pops). Schwarzenegger is the best thing about this film, after so many years the man still has it, that awesome screen presence, the dead stare, great delivery with dialogue and it feels right. I could probably see Schwarzenegger do this role for good few more years as he’s not lost his touch and it he was so great to watch. Jason Clarke as John Connor he was pretty good and I liked his energy for the role, but again he just wasn’t the best in this role. Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor. Having someone like Daenerys Targaryen in the role of Sarah frigging Connor seems like a good idea, but Clarke doesn’t have the right kind of physicality, screen presence or badassery that we associate with this iconic character. Clarke does a decent job, but not a great one and its mean to compare Clarke to Linda Hamilton but she can’t pull it off. Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese, man he wasn’t good. Courtney is an actor I don’t mind and want to see improve, however he’s always in such bad films and his performances aren’t the best and that is the case with this film. Courtney just doesn’t have the right kind of emotional depth to him and when you compare him to Michael Biehn, Courtney doesn’t compare, he doesn’t have the wit, charm or the everyman look to him. Lee Byung-hun was pretty good as the T-1000, I just wish there was more of him. J. K. Simmons as Detective O’Brien was pretty funny and I liked him but I was hoping that Simmons’ role was going to be a little more significant in the film. As for Matt Smith’s role in this film, I won’t reveal what it is because it is a massive spoiler, that being said it was pretty disappointing though I did like Smith’s American accent.

When it comes to the presentation. Visually the film looks nice, the CGI for the most part is very clean and sharp and is used well in the big set pieces sequences and the action for the most part is pretty good. But the film just doesn’t have anything super memorable about the action sequences, there’s nothing that is unique or totally badass them and in the modern age of action films that’s not a good thing. I did appreciate the use of colour, lighting and atmosphere the film tried to put across. As for the music, Lorne Balfe’s film score does nothing to elevate the film. It has no charisma, drama or memorable themes and this film barely capitalizes on the iconic themes from the previous films.

In conclusion the Terminator Genisys is decent, but isn’t the film I was hoping for. In a way I knew the film would end up in the way that it did, but I had hoped that Alan Taylor and the star power behind this film would produce a better result, but that is unfortunately not the case. That being said, the film was better than I expected with some great references to the first film and a great central performance from Arnold Schwarzenegger. If this film was streamlined and a little more focused, it would have been miles better, however what we’re left with is a decent return to the Terminator franchise. Hopefully the sequels can only go up from here.

Rating: 6/10

So what do you think of Terminator Genisys? Did you like the film, think it was alright or hate it? Please leave your thoughts below and I’ll see ya on the next review yo. 🙂

 

Terminator Genisys Trailer #1 Quick Review

Hello there people of the internet, time for a trailer review and this one is certainly interesting as we have the first trailer next instalment in the Terminator series, Terminator Genisys. This is a film I’ve been cautiously watching from afar and each time a new piece of information has come out my interested has dropped and increased each time. Now we finally have a trailer so I’m quickly going to give you my thoughts.

Check out the trailer below:

My immediate thoughts after seeing the trailer? I’m not sure. Obviously that is not a good answer at all, but in truth I’m not sure what to make of this trailer. It has a lot of the old key elements of the previous films but it does have a modern action film feel, both things intrigue and worry me.

So from what I understand from the trailer, this film takes place in the future, again, and humans are at war with machines and it looks like they’re on the losing side. So in classic fashion John Connor (Jason Clarke) sends Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to save his mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), however, Kyle gets sent back to an alternative past where things different and not as he was informed about. This Sarah Connor is battle-ready and badass, is full aware of her destiny and has been trained by the an aging T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger). It looks like the T-1000 Terminator (or something similar) is already chasing after her as well.

I have to give the people behind this film props for changing the story formula that we’ve come to know since 1984, but still remain faithful to the old films. I get vibes primarily from Terminator 1 & 2 and a bit of Salvation. Its like everything has been streamlined into one main story and mixed around with some new ingredients as well. It is both quite refreshing and worrying. I like how we’re not reliving the past and are getting something new, but at the same time I’m not sure if all of the changes will work. I like the visual presentations for the most part, the future looks very rich in colour, explosions and has nice cinematography and in the past the liquid Terminator looks as cool as ever. Character-wise Jason Clarke seems good as John Connor, though I can’t really see Clarke as John Connor from a visual standpoint. I like Emilia Clarke’s version of Sarah Connor, she seems capably badass, obviously not Linda Hamilton kind of badass, but she seems worthy. Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese, I have yet to see if he’ll do well, but he seems alright. Then there’s Byung-hun Lee as this new version of the T-1000 and he looks like he’ll be doing a similar performance to that of Robert Patrick in Terminator 2. There’s no sign into of Matt Smith or J. K. Simmons, so I’m curious to know how they fit into this film. If there’s one thing I hated about this trailer, it was the music, terrible and generic choices for the beginning song and the instrumental stuff towards the end, and the classic Terminator drum beat, it was alright but not as effective as I thought it would be.

In conclusion the Terminator Genisys trailer looks better than I thought it would, the combination of previous film storylines mixed in with a new one is quite intriguing, though some of the CG-heavy scenes and questionable delivery of the classic lines keep me cautious. I’m more interested in this film then I was before, though, this film still has its work cut out for it to be considered one of the films to look out for in 2015.

So what do you think of the first trailer for Terminator Genisys? Are you down with it or are you filled with hatred? Please leave your thoughts below and I’ll see ya on the next review yo. 🙂

 

It’s Official: Meet the Cast of DC Comics’ Suicide Squad Movie!

Good day to you people of the internet, and today is a glorious day as I FINALLY have some film news to talk about. After the epicness that was the Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser trailer last Friday, I’ve been totally bored and longing for another big news story to blog about and it seems like some mystical force has answered my prayers as we have some pretty cool DC film news to talk about relating to Suicide Squad. The following news comes from superherohype:

An all-star roster of actors has joined Warner Bros. Pictures’ new action adventure Suicide Squad, bringing DC Comics’ super villain team to the big screen under the direction of David Ayer (Fury). The announcement was made today by Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, Warner Bros. Pictures.

The film will star two-time Oscar nominee Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness, Focus) as Deadshot; Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, upcoming Mad Max: Fury Road) as Rick Flagg; Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, Focus) as Harley Quinn; Oscar winner Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club, Alexander) as the Joker; Jai Courtney (Divergent, The Water Diviner) as Boomerang; and Cara Delevingne (Anna Karenina, upcoming Pan) as Enchantress.

In making the announcement, Silverman said, “The Warner Bros. roots are deep on this one. David Ayer returns to the studio where he wrote ‘Training Day’ and brings his incredible ability to craft multidimensional villains to this iconic DC property with a cast of longtime Warner collaborators Will Smith and Tom Hardy, and other new and returning favorites: Margot, Jared, Jai and Cara. We look forward to seeing this terrific ensemble, under Ayer’s amazing guidance, give new meaning to what it means to be a villain and what it means to be a hero.”

Ayer is also writing the script for the Suicide Squad movie, which is being produced by Charles Roven (The Dark Knight trilogy, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) and Richard Suckle (American Hustle). Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Colin Wilson and Geoff Johns are serving as executive producers.

Suicide Squad, which was originally created by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru back in 1959, will set up shop in Toronto, Canada at their Pinewood extension starting in February. Following two months of pre-production, the film will shoot from April until September.

It was also previously rumored that Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor will play a role in the story, although his name is not included in this official cast list.

OH yes, fuck yes! I mean sure this is just a casting announcement, but I don’t care I’m hyped. I remember a little while ago when this group of actors were rumoured to be in this film, but obviously it was all rumour at that point and I think because names like Will Smith, Jared Leto and Tom Hardy were floating around, that maybe it was a little beyond the realm of possibility. But it seems like some unlikely things are possible. I’ve said it before, I’m not too familiar with the Suicide Squad’s origins and the only adaptation I’ve seen of them are in Arrow. So its like a Guardians of the Galaxy situation from 2012, when that film was announced I had no knowledge of the source material, that being said, I loved that film, so maybe DC and Warner Bros. can do the same for this comic book property.

So now let’s talk about this cast. What a fine bunch they are. All of these people chosen are interesting and dynamic and to put them together in comic book film makes me grin and think of so many possibilities. Let just start with Will Smith as Deadshot. For me this is the best and most interesting announcement. Will Smith is one of my all-time favourite actors, however the guy hasn’t been very active in recent times and the only films the man has to his name in the last two years is the decent Men In Black 3 and forgettable After Earth. The guy’s really needed a big new film to be part of and this I think could be the best decision for his career. While I’m not sure about the Deadshot’s origins and whether Smith is a good fight for the characters or not, it doesn’t matter. If this film and his performance ends up being good then it’ll be good publicity for him. And then there’s Tom Hardy. I love Hardy, he’s been one of my favourite actors since 2010 and these days I will try and see any film he appears in. I don’t know who Rick Flagg is and in a way I don’t care, if Hardy kills it in the role then that will be all I care about.

And then there’s the super interesting casting surrounding Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Jared Leto as the Joker! Margot Robbie, now this lady was lovely in The Wolf of Wall Street, however I have yet to see her in any other films to she how versatile she is as an actress. That being said she is playing Harley Quinn, HARLEY FRIGGING QUINN! In the 20 years since she came into existence she has yet to make a live-action appearance, but now she’ll finally be coming to the big screen and that in itself is an exciting prospect. I love Harley Quinn, she’s a very crazy, energetic and layered character, and if Robbie does a good job then I’ll be a happy man. And then there’s Jared Leto as the Joker; this is the super important role. Leto was awesome in Dallas Buyers Club and believe that he can probably do anything if given the right role, but now he’s stepping into a very important role, the role of the prince clown of crime. This is a critical role that if not handled correctly, will have fanboy go into a frenzy and freak out. Jack Nicholson was good and Heath Ledger was awesome, those are two damn good acts to follow, Leto will have his work cut out for him.

And finally we have Jai Courtney as Boomerang and Cara Delevingne as Enchantress. Both characters I know nothing about and when it comes the actors they are not nearly as interesting as the others. Courtney I’ve only seen Jack Reacher and A Good Day to Die Hard, which I liked in the former and hated in latter, this guy has yet to pull me in as a fan or as a good actor, maybe he’ll surprise me in the future. And finally Delevingne, I’ve not really heard of her or seen any of her films. I guess her appearance in this film will be my first experience of her.

Overall I’m down with this cast especially when it comes to Will Smith and Tom Hardy’s involvement. I now have a renewed interest in this film and I can only hope that it ends up being good. So what do you think of this news? Are you down with the cast or do you believe there are some wrong choices? Please leave your thoughts below and I’ll see you on the next blog post yo.